Bring peace to the Middle East! 13: Seeing the Middle East and Arab world in films 6: The historical backdrop

There is a common historical backdrop in the setting of “Lawrence of Arabia”, “The Four Feathers” and “The Wind and the Lion”.

It was imperialism, colonization by powerful countries.

I make the argument clear today.

既に紹介した三つの映画「アラビアのロレンス」「サハラに舞う羽根」「風とライオン」の舞台には共通する時代背景がありました。

それは帝国主義、列強による植民地化でした。

今日は、この問題を整理します。

In that time, what was taking place in the Middle East and Arab world?

この時代、中東とアラブ世界で何が起きていたのか

＜ 2. Colonization ＞

＜ ２． 植民地 ＞

Upper map: The greatest domain of Ottoman Empire.

Lower map: Colonies at the time of 1914.

上の地図： オスマン帝国の最大領域。

下の地図： １９１４年当時の殖民地。

An Algerian feudal lord was angry with France that continued avoiding paying a debt, and beat a consul in 1827.

France sent fleets on the pretext of it and Algeria surrendered at last by the armed forces.

France obtained Algeria without a difficulty in this way.

Egypt was ruled by the U.K. since 1882 as we saw in the case of “The Four Feathers”.

In 1911, Italy having got behind declared the war against Ottoman Empire suddenly to obtain Libya, and made it surrender.

Morocco had been an independent country for a long time, and the reason was Morocco could escape from the rule of Ottoman Empire because it was on the west edge,

However, the armed forces of powerful countries had been stationed as we saw in the case of “The Wind and the Lion”, and the scramble began.

In 1912, France divided North Africa with the U.K. and Italy, pushed out Germany attempting to interrupt, and possessed Morocco.

１８２７年、アルジェリアの太守が借金を踏み倒し続けるフランスに怒り、領事を叩いた。

フランスはこれを口実に艦隊を送り、ついには軍隊で降伏させた。

こうしてフランスは難なくアルジェリアを手に入れた。

エジプトは「サハラに舞う羽根」で見たように１８８２年から英国に支配されていた。

１９１１年、遅れをとっていたイタリアは、リビアを手に入れる為に突然、オスマン帝国に宣戦布告し、これを降伏させた。

モロッコは、西の端にあったおかげでオスマン帝国の支配を逃れ、長らく独立国であった。

しかし、「風とライオン」で見たように列強の軍隊が駐留し、取り合いが始まっていた。

１９１２年、フランスは北アフリカを英国とイタリアで分割し、割り込もうとしたドイツを排除し、モロッコを領有した。

＜ 3. Middle Eastern colony ＞

＜ ３． 中東の植民地 ＞

The subjection of the Middle East began between 1920 and 1921, Syria and Lebanon was ruled by France, and Jordan, Palestine and Iraq was ruled by the U.K.

This stamped on the independence, the promise with the Arab of “Lawrence of Arabia”.

When the U.K. had governed Palestine, it was the beginning of the present conflict in Israel to have promised Jewish return.

In this way, powerful countries took advantage of Ottoman Empire’s weakness, had divided the Middle East and Arab world from about the 1870s, and subsequently had did the most of Africa.

中東は、１９２０から２１年にかけて、シリア・レバノンはフランスの支配、ヨルダン・パレスチナ・イラクはイギリスの支配となった。

これは独立の為に戦ったアラブ、「アラビアのロレンス」の人々との約束を踏みにじるものでした。

英国がパレスチナを統治し、ユダヤ人の帰還を約束したことが、今のイスラエル紛争の発端になった。

こうして欧州列強は、１８７０年代頃より、オスマン帝国の弱体に付込み、中東とアラブを手に入れ、次いでアフリカ全土を分割していった。

＜ 4. Colonies in the world in 1914 ＞

＜ ４． １９１４年の世界の殖民地 ＞

Why did imperialism rise suddenly?

Since the mid-19th century, why did powerful countries fiercely compete for acquiring colonies by the armaments?

Some reasons.

Along with the changes of the industrial structure and economy in the powerful countries, they needed to expand the export of capital, the import of the food or raw materials, and the export of industrial products.

The domestic economy suffered from big recession many times, and the government had to turn away the people’s dissatisfaction from their own countries.

The prohibition of slave trade in the mid-19th century forced the economy and trade of related countries to change.

Furthermore, a decline of the U.K., a rise of Germany and America, and advancing southward of Russia happened, and the balance of power among nations begun to collapse.

They worked synergistically and it began.

Before long, if a large amount of capital was spent in the colony and the people’s residence to the colony advanced, the powerful countries needed to keep that security.

Like this, the powerful countries came to have to continue forcing it even if the colony management was deficit.

After all, the powerful countries used tax, and flowed the people’s blood, and then they oppressed many colonies.

This irrationality is due to the fact that they fall into the competition for acquiring colonies in large part with being tormented by uneasiness.

なぜ帝国主義が勃興したのか

１９世紀中期以降、なぜ列強は軍事力によって植民地獲得にしのぎを削ったのだろうか。

いくつかの理由

列強の経済と産業構造の変化に伴い、列強は資本輸出、食料と原料輸入、工業製品輸出の拡大が必要になった。

その国内は幾度も大不況に見舞われ、政府は国民の不満を外部に逸らす必要があった。

１９世紀半ばの奴隷貿易の禁止は、該当国の経済と貿易に変革を迫った。

さらに、英国の衰退、ドイツと米国の台頭、ロシアの南下など、国家間の均衡が崩れ始めた。

これらが相乗して始まった。

やがて植民地に多額の資本が投入され、国民の居留が進むと、列強はそれらの安全を守る必要が生じた。

こうなると植民地経営が赤字であろうが、列強はそれを強行し続けなければならなくなった。

結局、列強は税金を使い、国民の血を流したあげくに植民地を虐げることになった。

この不合理は、列強が不安に苛まれ、領土獲得競争に陥ったことが大きい。

＜ 5. The imperialism caused the World War ＞

＜ ５． 帝国主義は世界大戦を招いた ＞

Lesson of the history

As described above, the imperialism made the independence reproduction (democracy and economic independence) of the ex-colony difficult.

However, there is more.

The competition for acquiring colonies converged to the opposition between the two huge groups (Triple Entente, Triple Alliance) before long.

In Balkan Peninsula, as one bullet desiring for national liberation was shot, the two huge groups fought to the full extent of the power, and Europe became weak.

After all, they checked opponents by territory expansion and armaments reinforcement, and destroyed themselves due to have depended on expansion of the alliance.

In the days of the law of the jungle, there were some countries that did not this folly in Europe.